Lasso orders the closure of insurance provider; 8% vaccine no-show rate; Winter solstice celebrations planned; Cuencano develops transportation app

Jueves, 17/6/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Lista agenda del Inti Raymi (Inti Raymi agenda ready) – Azuay and Cañar will celebrate Inti Raymi with limited attendance and on social networks starting mañana and ending el próximo lunes. The ceremonies which honor el Inti or Sun God, and la Pachamama or Mother Earth, are held on the winter solstice (21/6). The Gobierno Provincial del Azuay and the Municipalidad del Sígsig will hold a 3 day celebration in the Ruinas Arqueológicas de Chobshi, 64 km. from Cuenca. Activities start el sábado a las 9:00 with workshops, talks, and touristic tours; and will continue el domingo a las 9:00 with an agricultural and crafts fair, and artistic and cultural presentations. El lunes is the main day of the fiesta and the ancestral rituals start a las 10:00. If you are interested in going, contact the Cultural y Turismo del GAD Provincial del Azuay to reserve a space. There is a maximum of 150 who can attend in person.

In Tarqui, The Federación de Organizaciones Indígenas y Campesinas del Azuay (FOA) will commemorate Inti Raymi el domigo in Yaku Wasi (Casa del Agua). it will start a las 9:00 with a ritual and a agro-ecological and gastronomic fair after. In Cuenca, the Consejo Internacional de Organizaciones de Festivales de Folklor y de las Artes Tradicionales (CIOFF) in conjunction with the Casa de la Cultura will have a paid event with limited capacity el sábado. The event will start a las 19:00 in the Teatro Casa de la Cultura with a presentation of 4 nationally known folkloric dance groups.

Inti Raymi celebrations are planned in the area for the winter soltice.

The Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (INPC) and the Centro de Investigación e Interpretación del Complejo Arqueológico Ingapirca have organized a talk, “Inti Raymi: Celebración y Tradición Andina en el contexto actual” (Inti Raymi: Andean Celebration and Tradition in the current context) on the Facebook page of INPC. Panelists will include speakers from Saraguro in Loja, Cotacachi in Imbabura, and Cañar in Cañar. The Unión Provincial de Comunas y Cooperativas Cañaris (UPCCC) along with the Municipio de Cañar will hold a two day walk with ancestral ceremonies that will be on line.

Fiesta virtual del maíz (Virtual corn party) – The 15th Festival del Maíz will be held el sábado a las 10:00 in the Complejo Arqueológico Cojitambo. It will be a virtual event with rituals, dance, and gastronomy. <It will be hard to enjoy a virtual food festival – drool all over your keyboard.>

Otras cosas –

Titular – Las clases virtuales saturan a maestros (Virtual classes overwhelm teachers) – A study conducted by UDA, the U. del Desarrollo de Chile, and the Fundación Liderazgo found that 42.8% of teachers in Ecuador felt overwhelmed by their jobs either frequently or very frequently. <The other 51.2% were men who don’t help with housework or childcare at home anyway.> 441 teachers in Ecuador from ages 24-66 were surveyed. 48.7 said they weren’t able to respect their work hours during the pandemic and 88.1% said they worked more than before the health emergency. In spite of this 83.2% found their work gratifying. The study concluded that socio-emotional tools should be provided to teachers. In the case of UDA, it gave a series of workshops to about 100 teachers after which 97% of the participants managed to manage their emotions.

Efectos secundarios generan dudas (Side effects raise doubts) – Data from Ministerio de Salud Pública shows that about 8% of people scheduled for vaccines do not show up for fear of after-effects of the shot. Fausto Idrovo, zonal coordinator, is asking people who have an appointment to not reject their shot since the vaccines are necessary to reduce hospital occupancy. <So if you don’t get your shots and you get sick, is the message “Please stay at home?”> The most common side effects are minimal with light pain, redness, and slight swelling at the injection site. Less common are tiredness, headache, muscular pain, escalofríos (chills and shivers – your word for the day since it’s a symptom of other stuff, too), fever or nausea. Carlos Días, an internist, said if needed, you can consult your doctor about over-the-counter medications to relieve these symptoms. He also recommended alleviating pain with wet cloths, taking liquids and not moving your arm abruptly. <Take two aspirin, plenty of fluids, and call him in the morning.> If symptoms last or worsen, go to your doctor.

Municipalidad aplicará multas (Municipality will apply fines) – Starting el próximo miércoles, fines for people who build without permits will get stiffer. Moving earth without authorization, or putting neighboring properties at risk will be punished with a fine of 50 times the Salario Básico Unificado (SBU), or $20,000. Scofflaws who continue to work and repeat offenders will be fined $40,000. People who build on protected areas of creeks, rivers, and natural drainage courses, and risk zones will be fined $24k. <You think maybe a $20,000 fine would get someone’s attention?>

Decomisan armas en la Penitenciaría (Weapons Confiscated in Penitentiary) – After a riot in the Penitenciaría del Litoral in Guayaquil el domingo, 13/5 that resulted in one death and several injuries, police conducted a search operation called “Mega Operación” in 12 pavilions simultaneously. The 1,500 officers who took part found 8 guns, 168 knives, 575 rounds of ammunition, 965 doses of drugs, 154 cellphones, and 8 explosive devices. There was also an escape attempt with 28 prisoners recaptured the night of 13/6.

Lasso resuelve liquidar empresa Seguros Sucre (Lasso resolves to liquidate Seguros Sucre company) – By liquidating Seguros Sucre, Pres. Lasso is looking to close a “focus of corruption from the last 14 years.” During the administrations of Correa and Moreno, the insurance company had been involved scandals, complaints and investigations reaching Florida and the UK. In 2009, Pres. Correa issued a degree obligating public institutions and businesses to contract exclusively with the State owned company. It went from a market share of 3.7% to 14.28%, making it the biggest insurance company in the country.

There have been alerts about the company including evidence presented by opposition legislators that the company did not contract with international reinsurers and it was also accused of not paying claims including for property destroyed in the 2016 Manabí earthquake. The last information from 2018 was that the total of unpaid claims totalled over $206 million. The biggest scandal involved the Integro reinsurance company in the UK which was resolved in a Florida state court against the ex-president of the company who could not show legal origins for $5 million. He finally admitted the money was from bribes and was sentenced to 4 years and 3 months for money laundering of bribes received from 3 UK reinsurers who paid to play.

Lasso ordena cambios (Lasso orders changes) – Pres. Lasso ordered the Corporación Financiera Nacional (CFN) to start liquidating Seguros Sucre and name a liquidator who has no links with the company. Lasso also said that all public institutions that contract for insurance should do it in competitive and transparent processes that focus on the quality of the reinsurance company. He pointed out that insurance companies in Ecuador do not have much capital and the risks of insuring property are high. The local insurance companies can’t cover the risks so they need to reinsure with large global insurers with sufficient assets to pay claims.

Nación amazónica lanza proyecto educativo basado en su cosmovisión (Amazon nation launches educational project based on its worldview) – The Sapara Nation in Ecuador, smallest of the 14 indigenous nationalities, is promoting an education project based on its worldview and respect for the jungle. The “Aytinujinya Sapara” project is in collaboration with a Canadian university and seeks to prepare youth to confront the ecological crisis facing the world.

App pensada en las nuevas necesidades (App designed for new needs) – Cuencano Juan Naula has developed “Aloapp” to bring people who need a ride with vehicle owners. The service is available in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Santo Domingo, Manta, and some US locations. The service has 5 categories tailored to the needs of its clients. There is “Alo Damas” for women passengers who will be served by women drivers for greater safety for both. Another category is “Alo Mascotas” for transporting pets. <With drivers who don’t mind hairy upholstery.> The other categories are “Alo Taxi” (yellow cabs), “Alo lite” (private cars and drivers), and “Alo plus” (large vehicles and VIP service). The app is available in Play Store and App Store. In two months, Naula will add parcel and food delivery services, will and add services in Canada in about 5 months. <Uber, Move over?>

Descuentos y compras –

Akí – 4 day sale with 15% off everything in all stores – 17, 18, 19, & 20 de junio – conditions apply.

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne